Friday, December 28, 2007

Sacrifice for the Grammar Queen

A little something for you grammar lovers and sarcastics alike. How lovely that I am both.
The mispronunciation of the word "ask" is one of my biggest speaking/grammar pet peeves. So, thank you "Married to the Sea" for channeling my constant annoyance and making it a part of your comic today.


Ode to you Grammar Queen:
(Please click on the link if you cannot view the comic in its entirety.)
http://www.marriedtothesea.com/122707/swing-by.gif

Married To The Sea
marriedtothesea.com


Monday, December 17, 2007

Attempts

Attempts

A glow from Sex and the City fills her room
Red nail polish. Unlit cigarette. Shit, put it down. 
"One hour" she says between thick bites of gum. Saliva. Withdrawls. Mint.
The doorbell pierces the night fog
Little black dress. $75 Cologne. Strong, and sweet.
"Hot" she thinks as he says "hey" and puts his hand in the dip of her back.
Fifty voices meld as one around them
Dry martini. Hands across the table. Damn, let go.
"My place?" she hears above her drumming head and sweating left hand.
Sheets like butter surround them together
Red heels. Silk tie, both at the foot of the bed.
Their mouths taste of salt, wine and stale cigarettes.
He begins to speak. "Must go" she says.
One last kiss. Hands pressed deep in the bed, body erected above.
A night chill prickles her skin
Taxi. Cigarette. Fuck it, try again tomorrow.

The Nanny Diaries: Book Review 2

I'm suddenly aware that most of my blog will probably end up being a series of book reviews. Deal. 

The Nanny Diaries
I broke my own rule and saw the movie before I read the book, but for two very good reasons.
1. Maddie and Jena wanted to see it when it came out and then I bought it for Jena's b-day and we watched it again.
2. When I first bought the book I had just started nannying and I truly wasn't mentally able to enjoy/appreciate/accept the book or my job for that matter.

A few months later, here we are and I've finally read the book.

Since I usually read a book before seeing the movie, 99% of the time I love the book more- especially Grapes of Wrath- worst movie EVER! Bleh.

This still holds true with The Nanny Diaries, but I do enjoy the movie- the guy in it is reason enough to see the movie- hell yes. The brilliance of the movie writers was to change many small features of the book. The story line, characters, etc. are still essentially the same, but there are some minor differences that give it its own zeal.

Anyhow, being extremely in love with the British, I naturally enjoyed the humor and style of this book. It takes place in New York and I'm not sure if the authors are from NY or England, but they write with the same zip of contemporary British authors- hooray!

One of my biggest issues with "my nose is in the air, I only drink lattes and read REAL aka old literature" snobs is that they believe books have to be OLD and DIFFICULT to be IMPORTANT. WRONG!
 The Nanny Diaries is the perfect example of why modern literature MATTERS. I'm sure it won't be read in a Harvard English class in 100 years, but c'mon people- appreciate GOOD writing. The vocabulary and wit in the novel is enough to leave you feeling slightly smarter than you did before you picked it up without feeling like you need Mr. Webster at your bedside table to answer a question every five seconds. 

The story line is simple- college student needs money- nannys for Park Avenue family, they are totally crazy, she meets cute guy, finds herself. 

But, I say there is nothing wrong with an entertaining read with enough charm to fill The Upper East Side.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Charlotte Temple: A Book Review

To let you in on a little "something, something", every time I finish a book, I'll post a modest review of it on my blog. 
I don't promise to like everything I read and I don't promise that if I like it, you will, but if you're looking for a book to read during a lunch break, on a plane, at a coffee shop or occasionally even one that may change your life, I promise to provide you with a plethora of opportunities...
Let me just get this out here: Charlotte Temple did not change my life and I doubt it will change yours. it is quite possible that the most interesting part of the book is its history.
Charlotte Temple, by Susanna Rowson, was written several years before the start of the 19th century. Just as the USA became, well, the USA, Row son wrote her novel, which is often called the first best seller and sometimes, the first American novel.
Rowson's novel is typical- a young woman impregnated by a man she loves who does not always love her in return. Her journey sends her to New York where she must deal with pressures of bearing a child our of wedlock with no money. 
Despite the book's typical story, I have to stop to tell myself, "HELLO! She WROTE the first best seller. Is her book typical, or did many other books follow suit????" No, I am not going to spend the time to compile data stating how many books had a similar plot line before or after hers- it's unimportant. The better question is, "Has literature evolved?"
I'm sure it's safer and wiser to say that it has. But, looking at this book makes me question:
A man impregnates and abandons his lover, he has the ability to marry someone else while she emotionally dies without him and is lost in a "great big world". 
I've read that story SO many times! But, maybe the evolvement has not come in the plot, but in the characters. 
Take Anna Karenina for example- instead of a man leaving her, she leaves her husband for a lover and takes her life into her own hands- I won't spoil the plot for those of you who have not read it.  She is a total change in female character. (If you have a million years to tackle over 700 pages of tiny print from a Russian author, please do.)
How about novels where this idea becomes a sub plot? In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time the young boy thinks his mom died, but she really left her husband and even though this story comes to a head later on in the story, it really has no need in the story for much of the novel, taking the pressure off the necessity for man and wife love and marriage.
Even still, maybe novels like Charlotte Temple remind us of a chance to rise above, but inability to do it. So many female characters- in movies, T.V. shows and novels- are sentimental characters without the fierceness to rise above their emotional "man drama". 
Maybe, Rowson was already ahead of everyone else. I mean consider the fact that she was a FEMALE writing the first best seller in a country that had only MEN signing the Declaration of Independence. Not to get too feminist, it's just a cold hard fact. Like so many other entertainers, authors and writers, Rowson showed us the choice we have as women AND people- how we deal with "drama" in our lives. I'm sure she would not have put it quite like that, but in a world filled with Mean Girls, sayings like "Save the drama for your Mama" and the sheer fun in using the word, it seems semi appropriate here.
So there you have it, my first blog book review/tangent, ha!
I definitely would not put this book on my Top 10, maybe even 20, but any book that creates this much attention on evolution of the novel, etc., etc., etc... deserves a chance. 
P.S. It's a little over 105 pages=- c'mon people, you can read it in a second and feel accomplished.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

10 million...

Yes, there are 10 million e-mails missing from White House files- more than originally thought.
Even better, the e-mails missing date from March of 2003- October 2005. 
In case you need a visual of what occurred during that time period, that's from the start of the Iraq war through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Think of this what you will, I just found it an interesting tid bit of information. In truth, it's not a huge deal of the average person deletes an e-mail- we do it all the time. (Where do you think they all go, by the way?) But, it is slightly alarming that 10 MILLION e-mails are missing from the most powerful and yes, I'll say it, manipulative office in the country- maybe the world. 
To put this in perspective, 10 million would be practically every single person in Oregon and Washington state.
Of course, there is little to no information on what will be done about retrieving the missing files or punishment for the brilliant people who deleted them. But, I would like to thank CNN for putting the information out there and allowing everyone to think about how their government operates behind closed door.
Oh, and did I mention  it's completely illegal for the White House to delete e-mails?
Hmm... I wonder if that includes e-mails Bush sends to his speech writers begging for better entomology on all the "big" words.

Also, check out nataliedee.com today- and always- link is on my side bar. I think today's comic sums up my inability to make a decision effectively. And it's a pancake, mom- that's sure to give you a good laugh.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

The Beginning

Trends.
Whether they are Uggs, The Beatles, Harry Potter, facebook, Sex and the City, or catch phrases, I always seem to wait to think they're trendy. 
Maybe it's my way of checking out its legitimacy before I dive head first- heaven forbid I be spontaneous at any time in my life.
Regardless, I have waited once again. This time, in regards to blogging.
But, after some thought- probably more thought than any one person ever put into thinking about creating a blog- I created one. 
With countless Word documents scattered on my computer filled with wishes, rants, ideas and useless written monologues and after viewing Claire's and Lauren's blogs many times, I realized I needed to make my own.
As a kid, I was AWFUL at writing in a journal or diary, so no one can tell how often I actually will write on this thing, but I suppose the topics I hope to write about are much more than the trivial conversations I had with my old diaries about playground drama and 5th grade crushes.
Nonetheless, that is all it may turn out to be- with a little less playground and boy talk, but as unamusing as those five diary entries a year would be to any onlooker, these entries might warrant a yawn, nap or "Esc" button.
But, this is not for you, or even for me really, as with most things nowadays, this is purely unadulterated nothingness.